Tsunade's Prestige

Just then, the tent flap was lifted again, bringing with it an even colder aura, like that of a snake.

A tall, pale figure slipped inside without a sound.

Golden slit pupils gleamed coldly in the dim light. It was Orochimaru, who had just returned from covering the rear.

His long black hair was slightly disheveled, damp with dew and speckled with nearly invisible dark stains. His black combat attire also bore the traces of battle.

"Oh my, oh my. It seems I returned at just the right time. The old man really did send you here."

Orochimaru's voice was low and hoarse, carrying his usual trace of amusement as his gaze settled on Tsunade's unpleasant expression.

"What? Has your hemophobia still not gotten better, Tsunade?"

"Hmph, it's none of your business, Orochimaru. You were too reckless. You took sixty ninja to attack the Hidden Sand camp. If you had been surrounded, every one of them would have died!"

"Hehe. But the strategic objective was achieved. That makes the sacrifices worthwhile, doesn't it?"

Tsunade suddenly raised her head. Suppressed fury and deep disgust filled her emerald-green eyes, directed not only at the war, but also at the man before her.

"Worthwhile?" she practically ground out the word through clenched teeth, her voice sharp with sarcasm.

"It's really something to hear the word 'sacrifice' come from your mouth, Orochimaru!"

Faced with Tsunade's merciless mockery, Orochimaru merely curled his lips slightly.

"Hehe, you're still as blunt as ever, Tsunade. But rather than discussing my 'recklessness,' there seems to be something else you need to worry about right now."

His golden eyes shifted slightly toward the medical unit outside the tent, as though he could see through the canvas and into the scene within.

"The casualties are rather severe, especially that Uchiha brat. He's badly injured."

"I heard he was poisoned into unconsciousness. Ordinary medical ninja probably can't handle injuries of that severity. So..."

He paused, seemingly choosing his words.

Tsunade frowned deeply and cut him off impatiently.

"The medical unit will handle injured ninja! I'm the deputy commander of the shinobi forces, not some accompanying doctor! Besides..."

She instinctively avoided Orochimaru's gaze. Her voice lowered, carrying a faint, nearly imperceptible tremor.

"...You know about my condition!"

"Of course I know about your ridiculous 'hemophobia.'"

Orochimaru's voice carried undisguised ridicule, but then his tone shifted, becoming somewhat awkward.

"But this time is different, Tsunade. I need your help."

"What?" Tsunade thought she had misheard him. She abruptly looked at Orochimaru, her eyes full of incredulous surprise.

Orochimaru had come specifically to ask her to save an Uchiha brat?

Had the sun risen in the west today?

"Since when did you start caring about some Uchiha brat? That's not like you, Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru's golden snake eyes met Tsunade's astonished gaze directly.

"Caring? Hehe..."

He let out a low laugh, his long tongue unconsciously licking across the corner of his mouth. The motion made Tsunade's stomach churn.

"I simply think... he's interesting. It would be such a shame for an Uchiha with... unique potential to die or become crippled."

In the end, unable to stand Orochimaru's disgusting mannerisms any longer, Tsunade went. She was also curious what kind of Uchiha could make Orochimaru want to take him as a disciple.

Inside Konoha's main medical camp.

Suppressing her intense physical discomfort, Tsunade entered the medical unit's tent, which was thick with the stench of blood and the bitter scent of medicinal herbs.

Her gaze deliberately avoided the glaring dark-red bloodstains on the ground and the blood-soaked bandages. She forced herself to focus on the isolated critical ward at the innermost part of the tent—the severely wounded victims of poisoning.

When the head of the medical unit saw her, he was like a drowning man clutching at driftwood. His voice was urgent and delighted, yet reverent.

"Lady Tsunade! I never expected you to come! Eleven ninja inside have been poisoned by Hidden Sand's new mixed toxin! It's extremely corrosive, and conventional methods are completely ineffective. The toxin seems able to paralyze the nerves and dissolve the chakra pathways."

He pointed toward Uchiha Lan, who was the most gravely injured. His face had taken on a lifeless bluish-gray hue.

Black veins spread beneath his skin like a spiderweb. Around his eyes in particular, the darkness was as thick as ink, while his breathing was so weak it nearly seemed to have stopped.

"Hmph!"

Tsunade snorted coldly, suppressing the churning in her stomach and the dizziness caused by the overpowering smell of blood.

"Everyone, move aside!"

Her voice carried unquestionable authority, instantly dispelling the panic around them.

She walked to Uchiha Lan's bedside and rapidly formed hand seals, each movement as precise as a finely calibrated instrument.

Pale green, incomparably pure chakra gathered densely in her palms, radiating powerful vitality.

"Ninja Art: Extraction of Delicate Illness!"

Her hands, shrouded in dense green light, hovered roughly ten centimeters above Uchiha Lan's body.

Her exquisite chakra control was displayed in full at that moment.

Countless chakra threads finer than hair extended from her palms, like living spirit serpents, precisely piercing the black toxin veins across Uchiha Lan's body.

The tent instantly fell silent. Even the wounded men's groans seemed to be suppressed by the miraculous sight.

All the medical ninja held their breath, staring unblinkingly at this A-rank medical ninjutsu mastered by only a select few.

The chakra threads traveled through the toxin veins, probing and absorbing.

Less than two minutes later, Tsunade abruptly opened her eyes and drew back her hands. Several strands of chakra thread were pulled from Uchiha Lan's body.

At the end of every thread was wrapped a small clump of viscous, ink-black toxin that radiated an ominous aura!

Uchiha Lan's complexion immediately improved, gradually regaining color.

She transferred the extracted toxin into a specialized medicine vial, then moved to the medicine table beside it.

Her hands moved so quickly they were nearly impossible to follow. Without weighing anything, relying entirely on extraordinary perception and experience, she grabbed wormwood root powder, blue crystal fragments, seven-leaf lotus cores, and a small lump of specially prepared absorbent clay...

"Grind them! Boiling water!"

She directly ordered the medical ninja nearby to assist her immediately.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"

Chakra wrapped around Tsunade's hands. One hand wielded a pestle, rapidly grinding the mixed ingredients in a medicine bowl, while the other manipulated chakra from a distance to heat a kettle of water.

Under the precise catalysis and proportions of her chakra, the medicinal ingredients dissolved and reacted at a visible speed, releasing a strange mixed herbal fragrance. The entire process flowed smoothly, possessing a violent yet efficient beauty.

In less than three minutes, a small bowl of viscous dark-green medicinal liquid had formed, its surface giving off a faint glow containing powerful healing chakra.

"Give each of them a dose, then treat them with the Mystical Palm Technique!"

Tsunade shoved the medicine bowl into the medical unit head's hands, then walked over to the other severely wounded ninja, closed her eyes, and began treating them.